"Our interventions are still here to support communities during the pandemic": Resuming mass drug administration for neglected tropical diseases after COVID-19 implementation delays

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted essential health services, including those provided by national neglected tropical disease (NTD) programs. Most mass drug administration (MDA) programs were postponed for 6-12 months following World Health Organization guidance released in April 2020 to temporarily ha...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PLoS neglected tropical diseases 2023-06, Vol.17 (6), p.e0011368-e0011368
Main Authors: Itaye, Tikhala, Matendechero, Sultani Hadley, Mbonigaba, Jean Bosco, Gebretsadik, Fikre Seife, Molefi, Tuduetso L, Baayenda, Gilbert, Ruberanziza, Eugene, Kollie, Karsor K, Zilabumba, January, Dembele, Massitan, Deribe, Kebede, Adrien, Elia Muhima, Polo, Maria Rebollo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Care and treatment
Community
Coronaviruses
Countries
COVID-19
COVID-19 - epidemiology
COVID-19 - prevention & control
Data analysis
Diagnosis
Disease control
Disease transmission
Drugs
Focus Groups
Health services
Humans
Innovations
Intervention
Mass Drug Administration
Medicine and Health Sciences
Neglected Diseases - drug therapy
Neglected Diseases - epidemiology
Neglected Diseases - prevention & control
NGOs
Nongovernmental organizations
Optimization
Packaging
Pandemics
Pandemics - prevention & control
People and Places
Polls & surveys
Prevention
Protocols
Public Health
Research and Analysis Methods
Response rates
Risk assessment
Transmission
Tropical diseases
Viral diseases
Workforce planning
Workloads
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Summary:The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted essential health services, including those provided by national neglected tropical disease (NTD) programs. Most mass drug administration (MDA) programs were postponed for 6-12 months following World Health Organization guidance released in April 2020 to temporarily halt NTD programs and launch necessary COVID-19 precautions. While NTD-endemic countries have since resumed MDA activities, it is critical to understand implementers' perspectives on the key challenges and opportunities for program relaunch, as these insights are critical for maximizing gains towards disease control and elimination during public health emergencies. Using data from using online surveys and focus group discussions, this mixed-methods study sought perspectives from Ministry of Health NTD Program Managers and implementing partners from non-governmental organizations working in sub-Saharan Africa. Data analysis revealed that findings converged around several main themes: disruptions for MDA programs included resource shortages due to prioritization of pandemic response, challenges adhering to COVID-19 safety protocols, and community hesitancy due to coronavirus transmission fears. Identified solutions for restarting MDA programs focused on adapting intervention delivery and packaging to minimize disease transmission, embracing technology to optimize intervention planning and delivery, and identifying opportunities to promote program integration between pandemic response strategies and NTD campaign delivery. Findings identifies key challenges due to disruptions to NTD program delivery and provide strategic recommendations for endemic countries to build resilient programs that can continue to perform during and beyond global pandemics.
ISSN:1935-2735
1935-2727
1935-2735
DOI:10.1371/journal.pntd.0011368